The Chameleon
by Misty8
Summary: *~* Sequel to "The Siren" *~* Something strange is going on (besides the usual) and it's not good. Something's after Cassie's life, and it's not Yeerk. Can the Animporphs save her in time, before it gets her?
1. Chapter 1

AN- Okay, here goes- "I don't own squat". Happy now? Oh yeah! And please don't continue reading past here if you hadn't read my other stuff, you won't understand squat. If you haven't read "The New", "The Fight", "The Siren" or any of the rest, please don't continue. Since you're reading this, I take it that you've read them all. I'm also experimenting with the HTML, so if it messes up, I apologize.  
  
The Chameleon  
  
Chapter 1-  
  
My name is Jake. You know the drill, 'I can't tell you my last name', 'we're out to save the world against the Yeerks' . . . you know all that stuff already. Right now, me and Cassie are on the rocks with each other over the siren deal. To put into two sentences or less: me, Marco, and Tobias all fell in love with this new, exotic, girl at school. The hitch was that it was involuntarily, we lost our ability to think (of course Marco's had left him way before that. . .) and control what we did, like we were under a spell, until the girls gave the siren the morphing power to become a nothlit in a human. Two long sentences, but sentences neither the less.  
  
"Cassie! Wait up!" I yelled as I saw her walk down the hallway.  
  
She turned around and gave me a half-smile, "Hey Jake."  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing," she shrugged. "I'm fine."  
  
I let it go. I knew better than to pursue an answer that I already knew. She still had some lingering sadness from her siren morph (long story).  
  
"Hey guys!" I heard someone yell behind me.  
  
"Hey Mariah," I greeted the girl from geometry.  
  
"Hey Mariah," Cassie replied walking up next to me. I grinned inwardly, her protectiveness towards me was a welcome side affect to the last few days.  
  
"Hey, have either of you seen Taylor today? I thought that he went home sick today in second block, but then I can promise you that I saw him getting onto his bus."  
  
"Weird," Cassie commented, looking at me.  
  
"Well, maybe he came back and you just didn't know it," I said, searching for a logical answer.  
  
She nodded, "Yeah, that's probably it. I'll see both of you later." She waved as she walked off.  
  
Cassie eyes quickly darted around the empty hallway. "Yeerk?" she whispered, barely audible.  
  
"I don't think so; it was probably just Mariah's imagination."  
  
"Okay," she looked away.  
  
Later that day we met in Cassie's barn for our usual meeting.  
  
"Any new news?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah, you'll never believe what The Sharing's doing now. They are sponsoring sports team to go and play against other regional teams. First they'll make the players hosts, then they'll go on to other regional teams and coaches, referees, fans . . . it's a long chain to go down," Rachel remarked.  
  
"Are we saying here that they are some refs lefts that are sane?" Marco asked.  
  
"No time for jokes this time, we need to get down to business," I replied rather harshly.  
  
"When do we not have time for a joke?"  
  
'We never have time for one your jokes, you just say them anyway," Rachel said sternly.  
  
"Guys, I'm hurt," he replied with a mock look of shock on his face. We laughed.  
  
"Okay, Rachel what else do you know?"  
  
"Tryouts for the basketball team are scheduled for Thursday, two days from now. We need to do something to stop it. If they have no team, they can have no opponent."  
  
"Plan of attack?"  
  
"Bust up the gym. No sense in hurting some poor, defenseless girl's basketball players."  
  
"Girl's basketball?" asked Marco. "How do girls have the right to play basketball? It's a man's sport."  
  
"I'm gonna let that go on the fact that you couldn't beat a 12 year old girl in that free-throw contests last year."  
  
"Hey! That was a weird girl that was able to make 3 in a row!"  
  
AN- Hope you all liked the first chapter so far. And if any of my JV B-ball buddies get on and read this, your names will be incorporated into the next few chapters. Now, please hit the little "Review" button!!!! Hey, can any of you tell me how to do the HTML tags? They aren't working! 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
"The Lady Tigers basketball tryout, Thursday at 6:00, informational meeting Wednesday night at 7:30 in Coach Greave's room," Marco read aloud from a poster on the bulletin board.  
  
"Interested in trying out?" I asked jokingly. We had to act like normal, in case anyone was listening.  
  
"Hey guys, what's going on?" asked Rachel walking up.  
  
"Not much, how about you?" I answered.  
  
"Not much either," I answered.  
  
"Well, see you later, bye," she replied. In case you didn't catch it, that was code for "I'll see you later at Cassie's", and speak of the devil, here came Cassie.  
  
"Hey Cassie!" I called after her and she turned and looked at me.  
  
"Hey Marco," she answered looking at me.  
  
"Okay, I know that you're mad at me, but that's just an insult," I said, taken back.  
  
"Hey man," Marco replied, punching my shoulder.  
  
"Oh sorry, Jake right?" she apologized and asked. Okay, this was genuinely weird. It wasn't Cassie, and I can't explain it.  
  
"Well, I've got to go," she smiled and walked off.  
  
"Yeerk?" Marco asked, hissing at me once we were outside the building.  
  
"I don't think so. I mean, first thing the Yeerk wouldn't have mixed us up. And second, the Yeerk would've blown the horn us on the minute she was infested. It doesn't make sense. And it didn't feel like Cassie, not Yeerk, just not Cassie. . ."  
  
"Well, maybe we better ask Ax later."  
  
Glancing behind me and seeing Cassie laughing with a groups of cheerleaders, not here group, I said back, "No, let's go now."  
  
"Jake, we're skipping school?"  
  
"It's last period anyway and since when is it against you?"  
  
"Never, I was just checking," he defended himself.  
  
Later in the glen, we found Ax and Tobias. I'm not sure, Prince Jake. From what you've described, it doesn't seem Yeerk, but neither the less, we should be extremely cautious. Visser Three relies on the fact that you can't 'pick out a Yeerk in the crowd' as you humans say Ax told us in thought-speak after we explained the situation.  
  
"Well, don't we have a meeting in the barn with the girls in a few minutes anyway, prince?" replied Marco looking at his watch.  
  
Yeah, let's go said Tobias as he fluttered his wings.  
  
"Hey bird-boy, just to check: has Rachel been acting strangely lately?" asked Marco to Tobias.  
  
No, she's been normal. Well, as normal as Rachel gets anyway.  
  
"Yeah, I just wanted to check if this was just a 'girl conspiracy' or anything."  
  
I laughed, at least Marco hadn't changed. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
"Hey guys," Cassie replied, coughing as she walked into the barn.  
  
"Are you okay?" asked Rachel, sitting down next to her.  
  
"No, I didn't even go to school today. I've been sick all weekend. Mom says that it's probably the flu. . ."  
  
"Wait a second! You weren't even at school today?" I asked jumping up.  
  
"Glad to know that you noticed, and no I wasn't." she replied sadistically, looking a little angry at my sudden outburst.  
  
I stole a glance at Ax who was standing guard. I pleaded with my eyes for an answer to what I should do.  
  
It would be best to tell her, Prince Jake.  
  
"Okay Cassie, are you positive you weren't at school at all?" I asked, just wanting to make sure.  
  
"Yeah, I think that I would know."  
  
"Well, okay Cassie, there was someone today who came up to me and Marco who looked exactly like you and answered to the name Cassie," I started.  
  
"The weird thing was that she didn't know which one of us was Jake. And you acted like you had never met us before either," Marco went on.  
  
"Well it wasn't me. Who do you think it was?" she asked looking scared.  
  
"I don't know, but Cassie I think that I need you to do something."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You need to come to school tomorrow, no matter what. But you need to come in late, like the beginning of second block."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"So what do we need to do?" asked Rachel.  
  
"Well, guys if you see Cassie in the halls just don't purposely go up and try to talk to her. Then we'll know who's who. So Cassie, it goes the same for you."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Katie?"  
  
"Yeah," Katie answered looking up. She had been uncharacteristically quiet the whole meeting.  
  
"I need you to do a special job. I need you to be the one to stay with Cassie the whole day, the presumably real Cassie, and just try to keep the two apart from each other. We don't know what we're dealing with yet."  
  
"Okay, but are you two sure that it was an identical look alike? I mean, it's improbable, but it is possible that there is a girl at school who resembles Cassie and has the same name and there isn't anything weird about her," she questioned.  
  
"No, this girl looked exactly like Cassie, and I could feel something different about, almost evil."  
  
"Yeah, but that still doesn't rule out the real Cassie," Marco remarked, trying to make light of the situation, but I know that he shouldn't because by the look on her face, Cassie was scared.  
  
"No jokes Marco," I said seriously.  
  
"Cassie, maybe we need like a codeword or something, because we don't have 3rd block together, and we might loose each other. I mean, it's not like I could tell you apart by your clothes thanks to the intelligent school board who incited uniforms," Katie said the last remark sarcastically.  
  
"Yeah, how about you ask me what my favorite song is, and I'll say "Princes and Frogs" by Superchic[k], and if you hear any different, then it's not me."  
  
"Okay, that'll work."  
  
"Alright guys," started Rachel looking at her watch. "Its 8:30 and some of us have curfews that don't need to be interfered with unless of a mission. I'll see you all later."  
  
"Okay, bye yall'," I replied and everyone got up and started to leave. "Wait a second Cassie."  
  
"What?" she asked turning around.  
  
"Can you take a walk with me for a little while?"  
  
"I don't know Jake, I've got Geometry homework and a history test tomorrow- ."  
  
"Please."  
  
She smiled, "Okay." 


End file.
